Ignorant Cop Harasses Gun Owner, Prosecutors Blame the Victim
Written by Brian Garst, Posted in Gun Rights, The Courts, Criminal Justice & Tort
Continuing the recent theme of police abuses and outrageous legal decisions which demand we bend over and take them, comes another story of flagrant police abuse and disrespect for the law:
Mark Fiorino, a 25-year-old IT worker from suburban Montgomery County, was walking on the street in northeast Philadelphia on Feb. 13 with his handgun exposed on his hip — and an audio recorder in his pocket. A police officer driving by in a cruiser, Sgt. Michael Dougherty, stopped and called out to him, prompting a tense, 40-minute encounter.
“Do you know you can’t openly carry here in Philadelphia?” Dougherty asks, according to the YouTube clip. Fiorino responds, “Yes, you can, if you have a license to carry firearms. … It’s Directive 137. It’s your own internal directive.”
After some profanity-laced back-and-forth, other officers responded to Dougherty’s calls for backup. Fiorino was forced to the ground as he tried to explain that he had a firearms license and was legally allowed to carry his gun openly. He had his permit on him, along with his driver’s license.
Basically, because the Philadelphia police did not even know the law they are asked to enforce, and are also power-tripping a-holes, this man was harassed and threated at gun-point by the police. And contrary to this report, there was not a “profanity-laced back-and-forth,” as there was only profanity coming from one side: the police. We know this because the audio is posted on YouTube.
But this is even worse than a case of police ignorance and abuse of authority, both of which are fairly typical. It’s also a case of the legal system stepping on the law abiding citizen to protect said “law enforcement” personnel. You see, the a-hole DA, protecting his a-hole cop buddy, charged Fiorina with “disorderly conduct:”
Several weeks after the altercation, after it was posted on YouTube, Commissioner Charles Ramsey had detectives look into the case, Evers said. On April 21, Evers said, Fiorino was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and recklessly endangering another person. The confrontation could have led to Fiorino getting shot and officers racing to the scene also could have been injured in an accident, police said.
On Saturday, several dozen gun-owners turned out at City Hall to protest Fiorino’s arrest.
Fiorino told the Philadelphia Daily News he plans to sue the city whenever his criminal case is resolved. His attorney, Joseph Valvo, said he thinks the move to file criminal charges against Fiorino was retaliation for posting the recordings on YouTube.
Fiorina “endangered another person” by apparently provoking a cop into displaying his abusive ignorance by trying to enforce a law that does not exist and pointing a gun at him. That’s about as legitimate as charging a rape victim for disturbing the peace.
Everyone should record every interaction they have with the police. To fail to do so is to invite them to lie about their abuses, and then blame their victims for it. While the post-incident harassment here is no doubt based on the fact that he exposed their behavior, it is only because of his recording that we know the truth. And more importantly, had he not been recording them – a fact which they discovered – they probably would have made up some other charges to hit him with.
Remind me again why so many conservatives are automatically deferential and assume that “law enforcement” can do no wrong in this country?
I serve as Vice President of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity, a non-profit think tank dedicated to preserving tax competition and free markets. This site features my personal views, which are not reflective of CF&P.